Urban geography and sociology 2800-UGS-USS-1-S1

The aim of the course is to show students what the sociological perspective in social sciences is and how it can be used to research cities’ communities, social changes in small and big towns and urban geography. The course will equip students with knowledge of basic sociological concepts and theories, and will provide the basis for conducting their own analyses of the problems of contemporary cities using sociological conceptual categories. The course consists of lectures, exercises, and a field project. Students will have the opportunity to learn the most important concepts in the field of basic sociology, which correspond well with those interested in urban geography.

Topics:
Lecture – 15h
1. Sociology and other social sciences – sociological perspective and imagination
2. Social control – are we all in some kind of prison?
3. Culture – is it all about museums? Culture as a booster and important barrier of development
4. Social classes and economic differences – are we rich enough? What does your address say about you?
5. Social groups, institutions and organizations – how to become organized?
6. Urbanization as a global phenomenon – how is it to live in urban world?
7. Urban-rural continuum – why settlements are somewhere between a city and a countryside?
8. Social creation of space – why sociological perspective is important in geography?
Exrecises – 15 h
9. Short sociological texts’ analysis
10. Urban manifestations of social control
11. Culture in urban context – bad culture/good culture?
12. Social conflicts around urban projects and space changes
13. Classes – Max Weber, Karl Marx and urban districts
14. Transformation of urban regions in the World
15. Problems with the delimitation of settlements and its consequences

Field trip – 20 hours
1. The aim of this part of the course is to prepare short students’ reports using sociological concepts and urban geography’s concept to describe impressions from visits to Toruń three institutions: Contemporary Art Center, Mill of Knowledge Modernity Center, and Torun’s Salesian primary school. In each case we’ll learn about local problems and specificity of these three places, especially we will try to get some knowledge about past and present conflicts and impact of the city on these institutions.

W cyklu 2025/26L:

Całkowity nakład pracy studenta

Contact hours with teacher: - participation in lectures – 15 hours - participation in exercises – 15 hours - participation in field trip – 20 hours - consultations – 2 hours Self-study hours: - preparation for lectures and final test – 40 hours, - reading literature – 20 hours, - preparation for exercises – 20 hours, - preparation for field trip – 20 hours, - writing project – 23 hours, Altogether: 175 hours (7 ECTS)

Efekty uczenia się - wiedza

Student W1: Defines key concepts and theories related to urban geography and sociology K_W01 W2: Recognizes and organizes processes and phenomena that are part of urban studies in the geographical and social dimensions K_W01

Efekty uczenia się - umiejętności

Student U1: Analyses data and discusses the main problems and challenges related to the issues of urban geography and sociology K_U01 U2: Uses the terminology related to urban geography and sociology in the right way K_U03 U3: Presents the results of their work clearly and coherently, communicating them in written or oral form to various stakeholders K_U04

Efekty uczenia się - kompetencje społeczne

Student K1: Evaluates the impact of solutions in various areas of life on the shaping of sustainable urban areas K_K01 K2: Shows intellectual curiosity and critical thinking, proposes new solutions, carrying out tasks K_K02 K3: Is open to discussion on the results of his work K_K02 K4: Is willing to deepen their knowledge, as long as it is needed to solve diagnosed problems K_K03

Metody dydaktyczne

Expository teaching methods: - problem lecture; Case studies, project-based learning

Metody dydaktyczne podające

- wykład konwersatoryjny

Metody dydaktyczne poszukujące

- obserwacji
- studium przypadku
- ćwiczeniowa
- giełda pomysłów

Rodzaj przedmiotu

przedmiot obligatoryjny

Wymagania wstępne

None

Koordynatorzy przedmiotu

Joanna Szalacha-Jarmużek

Kryteria oceniania

Assessment methods:

1. lecture:

final test (0,9 of final grade) W1, W2

fail - <50% pts
satisfactory – 50-59 % of all pts
satisfactory plus – 60-69 % of all pts
good – 70-79% of all pts
good plus – 80-89% of all pts
very good – 90-100 % of all pts

activity during lecture (0,1 of final grade) K1, K2

2. exercises:

participation in exercises and practical tasks (0,8 of final grade) U1, U2, U3, K2, K3, K4
Grade from practical tasks:
Lack of done tasks – fail-2.0
Very low-quality tasks – satisfactory- 3.0,
Low quality tasks – satisfactory plus - 3.5,
Average-quality tasks – good- 4,
Good-quality tasks– good plus- 4,5,
Very good-quality tasks – very good- 5.

activity during exercises (0,2 of final grade) K1, K2

3. field trip:

participation in field trip and project (0,8 of final grade) U1, U2, U3, K1, K2, K3, K4
Grade from project:
Lack of project – fail-2.0
Very low-quality project – satisfactory- 3.0,
Low quality project – satisfactory plus - 3.5,
Average-quality project – good- 4,
Good-quality project– good plus- 4,5,
Very good-quality project – very good- 5.

activity during field trip (0,2 of final grade) K1, K2

Praktyki zawodowe

not applied

Literatura

Berger P. Introduction to Sociology. Chapter 2 & 4.

Spatial self-identification of communes in urban region as an important perspective for shaping a metropolitan area, Smoliński Paweł, Biegańska Jadwiga, Wójcik Marta [i in.], Acta Scientiarum Polonorum, Administratio Locorum, 2023, vol. 22, nr 3, s.399-419. DOI:10.31648/aspal.8486

Atavism, layering and subversion : understanding great social challenges of today through the lens of cultural contingents. Dymitrow Mirek, Brauer René, Arsovski Slobodan [i in.], Geografski Razgledi = Geographical Reviews, 2019, vol. 52, s.157-170. DOI:10.37658/GR19520157d

Peri-urban development as a significant rural development trend. Biegańska Jadwiga, Środa-Murawska Stefania, Kruzmetra Zenija, Swiaczny Frank, Quaestiones Geographicae, 2018, vol. 37, nr 2, s.109-124. DOI:10.2478/quageo-2018-0019

Deprivation and the rural-urban trap. Dymitrow Mirek, Biegańska Jadwiga, Grzelak-Kostulska Elżbieta, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 2018, vol. 109, nr 1, s.87-108. DOI:10.1111/tesg.12263

Landscapes with different logics : a physicalist approach to semantic conflicts in spatial planning. Krzysztofik Robert, Dymitrow Mirek, Biegańska Jadwiga [i in.], Quaestiones Geographicae, 2017, vol. 36, nr 4, s.23-39. DOI:10.1515/quageo-2017-0034

Poverty and social exclusion : an alternative spatial explanation. Krzysztofik Robert, Dymitrow Mirek, Grzelak-Kostulska Elżbieta [i in.], Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series, 2017, nr 35, s.45-64. DOI:10.1515/bog-2017-0004

Więcej informacji

Dodatkowe informacje (np. o kalendarzu rejestracji, prowadzących zajęcia, lokalizacji i terminach zajęć) mogą być dostępne w serwisie USOSweb:

Strona przedmiotu 2800-UGS-USS-1-S1 w USOSweb